UK Environmental and Sustainability Studies to Host Speaker Series
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 12, 2020) — The University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences' Environmental and Sustainability Studies program will host a speaker series to give students a realistic look at what they can do with their degrees. The three-part “What can I do with an ENS degree” Spring 2020 Speaker Series is set to begin Feb. 13.
“As corporations are starting to put the planet before profits, our speaker series demonstrates the diversity and growing job market in the field of sustainability,” said Betsy Beymer-Farris, director of Environmental and Sustainability Studies at UK. “It gets students excited and well-prepared to enter the workforce and contribute to a more sustainable future.”
Beginning the series is senior environmental specialist for EcoGro, Russ Turpin. He is a native plant specialist and oversees their restoration, weed control and maintenance programs. Turpin is primarily responsible for running heavy equipment on stream mitigation projects in Central Kentucky. His presentation “Working in the Field of Environmental Restoration” will begin 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in 234 White Hall Classroom Building.
The second speaker in the series is Winifred Bird, an environmental journalist and translator from northwestern Illinois. Bird has reported about all areas of nature, including wildlife, agriculture, rising sea levels and nuclear disaster for many national publications. Bird’s presentation will start 5:30 p.m., March 5, in Room 121 of the Don & Cathy Jacobs Science Building (JSB).
Closing out the Spring 2020 Speaker Series will be Lenard Sauers, former vice president of global sustainability and global product stewardship at Proctor and Gamble. He currently teaches environmental and social sustainability as an adjunct professor at Xavier University. Sauers’ discussion will begin 5:30 p.m., April 9, in Room 221 of JSB.
The speaker series will aide students in better preparing themselves for life after college, including building a successful career in sustainability and environmental work.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.